By: preme | On: 17 Nov, 2008
Travis Barker is still recovering from the devastating burns he sustained in a September plane crash, but he’s back to doing what he loves most – making music.
“I’m already playing my drums again and I’m already back in the studio,” the former Blink-182 drummer told MTV Sunday during an appearance on Total Finale Live.
And he hasn’t missed a beat.
“It was like riding a bike,” Barker, 33, said via satellite from his L.A. studio. “It was really exciting to know I still have my chops. It still felt good. I still can make it around the kit. Everything felt right, so I’m thankful to be able to play.”
The drummer and his current musical partner, DJ AM, suffered second and third-degree burns when their private plane crashed in South Carolina. The fiery wreck killed four others.
By: preme | On: 15 Nov, 2008
When Apple first revolutionized the music industry with the release of the Ipod, little did anybody know just how far reaching the impact of that little device will be. With the 1 billionth Ipod being sold recently, it’s no surprise that Apple are investing even more resources into developing their Ipod. With the new versions of the Ipod supporting video playback, the attention once again shifted and added a new market. What was once a problem for the music industry is now a problem for the movie industry with illegal downloads. Regardless, movie downloads for Ipod are set to soar and maybe even overtake audio downloads.
The biggest frustration for Ipod users is where to find movies to download? There are currently hundreds of online music shops where you can legally buy music, but there are very few movie sites and it seems like the technology caught the supply off guard. Only recently a couple of sites sprang up that provide downloadable Ipod movies of virtually anything you can think of.
Then there is also the whole debate of legal downloads. The landmark lawsuit against Napster in the 90’s marked a turning point in peer-to-peer (P2P) downloads and today these sites are illegal – despite the rumors that the ‘law’ can’t touch you when it comes to P2P. Several agencies are actively persecuting illegal downloaders and recently a 19 year old kid from New York was fined $500,000 for illegal downloads. No matter which way you look at it, this is theft and the music industry really is feeling the punch. In the long run it really isn’t worth it to download illegally.
To step in and solve the problem and bridge the gap between free peer-to-peer downloads and expensive music shops, several membership sites came to the rescue. For a monthly membership fee, you can download as much music and video as you please – and it’s all legal. Since most of the mainstream music stores charge you per song, the membership sites will only charge you a monthly fee – regardless of how much or how little you download. Since peer-to-peer downloads come with many obvious risks of viruses and the frustration of incomplete and misleading downloads, these membership sites are indeed a welcome addition to the web and one that most Ipods just love.
The two biggest membership sites are Ipod Blender and Feed Your Ipod, and both offer a massive selection of movies and videos, all neatly indexed and with stable and efficient download speeds. Movie downloads for Ipods really need to be optimized and you don’t want to fill your entire 80GB Ipod with only 2 movies. The appropriate format, size and quality is important in getting the most out of your Ipod and these membership sites does all the grind work for you. All you have to do is download and enjoy.
If you are only downloading one or two albums or movies a month then a membership probably won’t be worth it, but if you are a more serious downloader, then it really is well worth it. Movies is the next big thing for the Ipod and with the next generation of Ipods you can expect an even bigger and better screen for even bigger and better movies on your Ipod.
By: preme | On: 25 Aug, 2008
In DISASTER MOVIE, the filmmaking team behind the hits “Scary Movie,” “Date Movie,” “Epic Movie” and “Meet The Spartans” this time puts its unique, inimitable stamp on one of the biggest and most bloated movie genres of all time — the disaster film. DISASTER MOVIE follows the comic misadventures of a group of ridiculously attractive twenty-somethings during one fateful night as they try to make their way to safety while every known natural disaster and catastrophic event — asteroids, twisters, earthquakes, the works — hits the city and their path as they try to solve a series of mysteries to end the rampant destruction. Taking aim at everything and everyone, from “Indiana Jones” and “Iron Man” to Amy Winehouse and “High School Musical,” DISASTER MOVIE lampoons the blockbuster movie, pop culture icons and public figures along the way as Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer satirize everything as only they can.
Release Date:
August 29th, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating:
PG-13 for crude and sexual content througout, language, drug references and comic violence.
Distributors:
Lionsgate Films
By: preme | On: 16 Aug, 2008
A failed drummer is given a second chance at fame. Robert “Fish” Fishman is the extremely dedicated and astoundingly passionate drummer for the eighties hair band Vesuvius, who is living the rock n’ roll dream until he is unceremoniously kicked out of the band. Twenty years after his rock star fantasies are destroyed, just when Fish has finally given up all hope, he hears that his nephew’s high school rock band A.D.D. is looking for a new drummer. They reluctantly make him the newest member of the band, giving him a chance to reclaim the rock God throne he’s always thought he deserved, and taking the young band along for the ride of their lives.
Production Status:
Released
Logline:
A failed drummer gets a second chance at fame 20 years after being booted out of his famous band.
Genres:
Comedy and Musical/Performing Arts
Release Date:
August 20th, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating:
PG-13 for drug and sexual references, nudity and language.
Distributors:
20th Century Fox Distribution
By: preme | On: 18 Jul, 2008
Mamma Mia! is the worst-directed “good” movie ever. If it wasn’t for the effervescent charms of ABBA’s sparkling songs, and the brave earnestness of the uniformly superb cast, it would be an unbridled disaster. No matter her impressive theatrical résumé, director Phyllida Lloyd is the song and dance version of Uwe Boll. Her choices behind the lens are so shockingly bad, and her grasp of cinematic language so surprisingly weak, that you wonder how amazing this movie would have been had someone with a modicum of moviemaking skill shown up to take control.
A prime example of Lloyd’s motion picture incompetence comes toward the very end, when Streep is singing her heart out to “The Winner Takes It All.” It’s an emotional moment, the pinnacle ballad in a character’s crazed, out-of-control life. As the Oscar winner delivers a knock-out performance, her delicate gestures giving way to facial expressions racked with regret, Lloyd circles the actress, her camera constantly swirling around the action. By the fourth or fifth revolution, we want the visual merry-go-round to stop, if only to give Streep a chance to connect. But instead, the audience must endure more whirling dervish nonsense before a final shot saves everything.
Much of Mamma Mia! is like this, random moments of acting/musical brilliance boondoggled by Lloyd’s aggravating designs. A pier-side chorus line of “liberated” ladies really sells “Dancing Queen,” even if our filmmaker can’t capture the moment properly for maximum impact. Our young lovers sing “Lay All Your Love on Me” with the appropriate passion, even as their director adds goofy men in scuba gear as a Monty Python-like distraction.
And remember, this is a good movie, a film buoyed by ABBA’s undeniably infectious music. The minute one of their classic kitsch hits comes cascading across the speakers, all flaws are forgiven, carried away on puffy cotton candy clouds of pop chart charms. It’s hard to maintain a sour attitude with ’70s staples like “S.O.S.,” “Super Trouper,” or “Take a Chance on Me” bouncing in your brain. And given the fact that Streep, Brosnan, and Seyfried acquit themselves admirably, we have no real qualm with the content.
Also Known As:
Mama Mia!
Mamma Mia! The Movie
Production Status:
Released
Genres:
Comedy, Musical/Performing Arts and Adaptation
Release Date:
July 18th, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating:
PG-13 for some sex-related comments.
Distributors:
Universal Pictures Distribution